Pokemon Ranch
by oOforeverobsessedOo
Summary: Jae and Rae are kicked out of their own home to go on a pokemon journey. Will they survive? More importantly.... will their new arch nemisis survive them?
1. Some Birthday

Pokemon Ranch

By Bryanna and Danielle

A/N: Bryanna: Konnichi wa, minna! This is Bryanna and Danielle speaking! We decided to do a pokemon story together, and then we decided to put it up on ...Well, that was stating the obvious. Anyway, I hope you like it!

Danielle: Right. -pushes Bryanna out of the screen- Well, pokemon is not ours. The charactors are ours, but the actual idea of pokemon is not. Or is it... o.O

Bryanna: -pushes back into the screen- Hey! No pushing me out of the screen! It's my account and half my story!

Danielle: -give little shove that knocks Bryanna, surprised, out of the screen again- I can, and I will!

Jae: Stop it or you'll get it!

Bryanna & Danielle: Um... Haha... -sweat drops and becomes imediatley "little angels"-

Rae: -Cheerfully- Before they start destroying everything, let's get on with the story!

Chapter One: Some Birthday

Jaelyn pushed through the brambles, gently pulling the branches aside to make a path into the fort she and her sister, Raechael, built together. "Hey…" she said softly, walking to the middle, hunching over to miss banging her head on the fragile ceiling and having everything collapse around her. "How're you doing?" she asked with the same, soft, gentle voice when she got to the center of the fort.

She bent over and folded a blanket back to reveal a pokemon. It had long gashes that seemed to be healing, but also appeared to hurt horribly, as when she placed a gentle finger on it, the pokemon cried out in its sleep and squirm slightly to the side. "You're looking better…." The pokemon opened one eye, then the other and sat up slowly.

Jaelyn smiled slightly and pulled out a potion from a pocket in her pants and slowly squirted it on him so that it wasn't much of a surprise. After the potion was gone, she knelt on one knee, her arms on the other, and watched the Treeko with growing love. It had only been a week since she had found him, and yet she was already attached to him….

-Flashback-

Jaelyn was going on one of her many roams through the nearby woods, contemplating many things. The sun shone through the canopy, illuminating and warming the growth underneath. She heard a rustle from nearby bushes, and, turning sharply, saw a Treeko burst through, chased by an Absol. The Treeko sprinted across the path, the Absol closely following.

Jaelyn stood there for a while and counted the ten before dashing off in the direction they had gone. Branches snagged her black shirt and baggy, camo-pants as she ran, following the trail of broken twigs, bent leaves and grass, and loud rustles. Her sweater, which was tied around her waist, flopped up and down. She rounded a tree and they came into view. The Treeko seemed to have slowed and tired, for the Absol was definitely catching up.

For one horrible moment, the Absol caught up, scratching and biting the Treeko. Then the Treeko broke free and they both started the chase again, with Jaelyn trying to follow.

They broke out of the dense forest, onto clear land with a few bushes here and there. The edge loomed closer and closer, but the Treeko didn't seem to notice. He kept looking back at the Absol, trying to see how close it was. Jaelyn skidded to a halt and gasped, realizing he wasn't going to stop, though the Absol slowed down. "Watch out!" she cried, but the Treeko kept going, and Jaelyn watched in horror as he fell off the cliff with a "TREEEEEKo…."

Suddenly a burning rage filled her, though she didn't know why, and she turned to the Absol and glared at its triumphant look. "You stupid thing!" she yelled at it, advancing on the pokemon, who turned to her. "Why did you do that?! He was an innocent pokemon! Go to –" She didn't get to finish what she was saying, for a trainer emerged from the dense forest, grinning and running up to the Absol.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you, Lee!" He leaned down to pat the Absol, then straightened to look at Jaelyn with a critical eye. "And who're you? You're trying to steal him, are you?" he asked harshly.

She glared at him, at his brown hair, his blue eyes, his brown, tight clothing, before replying, "I wouldn't touch _that_ except to beat it. Now if you'll excuse me…." Leaving the trainer to think of an angry reply, she jogged to the edge and looked down. She could just barely see the bottom. She took a deep breath and willed the dizziness that had entered her head away, ignoring the trainer, who was ranting about something or other. She knelt, turned on her knees and hung onto the edge as she lowered herself down. She scrabbled at the edge, rocks falling away, before she found a suitable foothold, thus starting the long climb down. At the bottom, she paused to catch her breath and looked around. No Treeko. But there were long lines in the dirt as if something had dragged itself somewhere else.

Carefully and quietly she followed the trail to a medium sized bush. She peered underneath, moving the twigs and leaves away to reveal a passed out Treeko, who didn't appear to be breathing. Jaelyn felt like her heart stopped. Why, though? Why was she so worried about a pokemon she didn't know anything about? She shook her head. Not now. Now was time to save something. She gently grabbed hold of his waist and slowly dragged him out.

First she checked to see if he was breathing. She heaved a sigh of relief to find that he was, in fact, breathing, even though it was slight. She tugged her sweater off, and though it was warm out, put it on. She then picked the Treeko up and put it in her hood, hoping he wouldn't fall out. Then she started the long climb back up, sweat dripping down her forehead.

As her head poked above the edge of the cliff, she was discouraged to find that the trainer and Absol were still there. She went a little farther up, then found that she couldn't get up onto the flat surface. "Well, if all you're going to do is stand around and be obnoxious, mind helping me here?" she spat, clawing at the ground and trying to stop herself from falling.

Shrugging, he walked over, crouched, and reached one hand down. She grasped it with relief and annoyance. What took him so long to realize she needed _help?_ With his help, she pulled herself up onto what she labeled safety. "Thanks," she said, trying to catch her breath.

"No problem," he replied. No problem? No _problem?!_ Oh, sure, 'No problem, you loosened the cap first, I just opened it.' 'No problem, it was easy to get that nail in.' 'No problem I just _saved your life._' Oh, yes, 'No problem' was right. She felt a fresh wave of annoyance when he said this, and she quickly got up.

"Wait. What's your name? Mine's Andy. Short for Andrew," he said.

She considered whether she should tell him the truth or not, seeing as he might be a rival of hers later on. Shrugging and deciding it was okay, she said roughly, "Jaelyn." And walked away.

She walked without looking back until she got to the path, where she reached back and gently too the Treeko out. He was still breathing. Cradling him, she walked slowly and tried to keep him steady to ease the pain a bit.

-End Flashback-

After that, she had brought blankets outside and made a nest for him, used some of her dad's potions and brought him some food and water regularly.

She looked at him and smiled again. "It's my birthday today. I'm turning twelve. And I better be heading back. My family will be wondering where I am. I'll come back later, okay?" She patted his head, got up and walked away while he started to eat the food and drink the water she had brought.

She contemplated what she would do if her mother and father found out she had a pokemon. They thought she was too young to have one. She sighed, and realized she was coming to the yard. She brightened, anticipating a great cake. (Her mother made the best cakes.)

"Happy birthday, Jae!" Raechael said, smiling at her younger sister and wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they met just outside of the barn. "Where've you been? I've been waiting for you cake and presents for /ages/! Mom and Dad said I wasn't allowed to blow out your candles and open your presents for you—we had to wait for you."

Jaelyn smiled.

"Sorry about that. I was just walking around." She replied.

"Again, huh? Geesh, you're more like me than I thought. Alright, it's time for presents!" Rae cheered. "C'mon! I'm /hungry/!"

"You're hungry for _presents_?"

Laughing, the sisters ran the rest of the way to the house and burst through the front door.

"I found her! Can we eat now? Please?!" Rae begged their parents.

"Not yet, Rae. We need to sing, and then Jae needs to blow out her candles and /then/ we can eat. Just be patient." Kaylee, their mother, said, smiling in amusement.

"Aw! But I'm /hungry/! I /can't/ be patient when I'm hungry! I've /tried/!" Rae complained. Jae laughed.

"Alright, whiner, I'll cut my cake /now/, just to shut you up." She said, lightly smacking her sister.

"Yay!"

Two hours later, Jae was packing up her new presents—twelve pokeballs, three potions, a revive, pokemon food, human food, a pair of clothes, a pokeNav and a star pendant—into the new, durable and water-proof bag her sister had gotten her, and Rae was on her third piece of chocolate-chip-covered chocolate cake.

"Alright, you two. Now that the cake's been eaten and the presents opened, it's time to tell you the rest of the news. And this is for both of you." Kaylee said. She glanced at her husband, Kira.

"Girls, we've decided that you're mature enough to be on your own. We think it's about time you started on your own paths. Rae, we've unfairly kept you here longer than you should have been. Both your mother and I went off on our own when we were eleven, and we believe it's about time for the two of you to do the same." Kira said.

The sisters stared in disbelief between each parent and each other.

"You're kicking us out of our own home?" Rae asked flatly, disbelieving.

"Well, not exactly. Your things will still be here, and you can come visit. We just think it's time you made your way in the real world. You're both old enough and mature enough to make your own mark on the world." Kaylee said.

Raechael and Jaelyn stared at each other, their eyes wide. Kaylee chuckled softly, glancing at her husband.

"Look, honey. They're so happy they're speechless." She said.

-Scene change-

"Okay, for being so smart, our parents are sure stupid. 'Look, honey, they're so happy they're speechless.' Oh, please! We're not /happy/! We're /desperate/! What if we don't /want/ to leave? I mean, I'm excited, but I'd like to have a CHOICE as to whether or not I leave my own home!" Rae exclaimed angrily, throwing her durable, waterproof, bright red bag on her bed. She began searching through her drawers and under her bed, looking for the things she'd want to bring with her on the trip. "I mean, it's our own home! We /live/ here! But they're kicking us out! It's not fair!"

The sisters were silent for a minute as they both started packing up their things.

"What do you think we'll need?" Rae asked finally. "Food, clothes and sleeping bag, obviously. Then… pokeballs, potions, revives… pokemon food… Emmy, of course…. Money…. We'll have to set up accounts on the National PC so we can capture more than six pokemon…. I suppose we should bring stationary and stuff to write to Mom and Dad…. Can you think of anything else? …Jae? Are you okay? You haven't said anything since the announcement."

"Does this mean… I can get my own pokemon now?" Jae asked softly. Raechael blinked, then smiled.

"Yep. You get to have your own pokemon now. Any idea what you want it to be?" She asked. Jae glanced at her.

"A Treeko." She said firmly, her voice soft.

"That's a good choice. It's a good pokemon. It's hard to find, though. So, I mean, unless you have a whole stash of them or something, it's not likely you'll be able to get that as your first pokemon. We can look, though."

Jae giggled a little. "Come with me." Raechael followed her out of the house and towards the fort. "Y'know, I've been thinking. Mom said that she and her sister were out on their own when they were eleven. I'm twelve, and they haven't even let me feed the Ponytas without help."

"…So?"

"I just think it's odd, that's all. Here we are. You might want to enter quietly. I'm not sure how he'll react to strangers…." She pushed through the bracken and into the open place and said quietly, "Hello. I told you I'd come back. And I've brought someone to meet you." The Treeko looked up, then bounded into Jae's arms. "See? This is the Treeko I want to have as my first pokemon. I haven't thought of a name, yet, though…."

"Wow! That's really cool. When did you find it?" Rae asked softly, not wanting to scare the pokemon. "Hey there. You're a cute creature, aren't you? Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

Treeko cautiously leaned towards Rae to sniff her, and Jae smiled. "I found him about a week ago." She patted the Treeko, who had scrambled up onto her shoulder.

"And you've hidden it from the three of us this whole time? Geesh, and here I was thinking you weren't subtle at all! I guess that would be me though, ne? Well, it doesn't matter now. Mom and Dad won't care anymore. Well, I guess we should probably go now, before Mom and Dad really /do/ kick us out of the house. Are you ready? We'll come back soon enough." Rae said.

Carrying Treeko, Jae walked close behind Rae as they headed back to their house to finish packing.

Once they were done, they waved goodbye to their parents and their pokemon and set off onto their journey.

------------

A/N: Bryanna: Well, that's it for this chappie! The next one should be up soon. We'll try to get it up within two weeks. Hope you enjoyed it!

Danielle: Yeah, even though it's already done, we want you to have a little suspense. Not really, 'cause there's not much "suspense" in this fic.

Bryanna: Hey, guess what? We'll give a cyber cookie to whoever can figure out which character belongs to who! See ya next chapter!


	2. The Start of the Journey

A/N: Sorry it's taken us so long to get this up! We've both been really busy keeping up with school work and extracurriculars. Now that we're caught up, vacation's next week and summer's on the way, we'll try to be better about posting. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Absolutely we own pokemon! We also own the world! BWAHAHAHA! Well, we own Jae, Rae and our plans to take over the world. But once we own the world, we'll own pokemon, too!!!

Chapter Two: The Start of the Journey

Jaelyn and Raechael woke to quiet clanking. They glanced at each other around the fire and slowly sat up. Rae jumped and clamped a hand over her mouth when she saw a /something/ searching through their things. Jae glanced at her sister, sending her a '/do/ something/you're/ the oldest!' look, and Rae mentally groaned. She quietly stood and grabbed the thing nearest her—a frying pan. She closed her eyes tightly and hit the intruder over the head with the frying pan.

"Pom…." It said weakly before collapsing. Raechael cautiously opened one eye, then stared with a hand over her mouth.

"Did you just…?" Jae asked softly, coming over to stand next to her sister, her eyes wide, Treeko held tightly in her arms.

"Um… oops?" Rae said. She crouched next to the out-cold Aipom.

"Is it dead?" Jae asked. Rae rested her hand on the pokemon's chest.

"…No. It's breathing." She said. "We should probably get it to a Pokemon Center, though."

She captured it, and it gave no resistance. She placed it in her rucksack and sighed.

"Well, I'm not going to be able to sleep now. What about you?" She asked, releasing her Mightyena. "Mind standing watch, girl? I'll feel safer with you nearby."

"No, I'm not going to be able to sleep. My adrenilililililine is pumping now. I want to train or catch more pokemon. You up for something, Treeko?"

"Treeeeee!" it cried excitidley.

"'Kay, but we'll have to go easy; you're not completely healed yet."

"Be careful, you two. Don't go too far until dawn. I don't want you guys gettin' lost." Raechael warned. "And if you get into something you can't handle, don't hesitate to call."

"Right. I'll use the PokeNav. Oh! That reminds me. We have to enter each other's numbers. Here." Jae handed Rae her PokeNav and entered her number in when Rae handed her hers. Receiving the correct PokeNav from her sister, Treeko and Jae set off into the dark forest, night's shadows covering the ground and making things look forboding. "Alrighty! Let's try to find a pokemon to catch!" she said. She scanned the forest and noticed a small pond. "Maybe there's some pokemon over there," she whispered to Treeko as she walked over to the water and hid behind a nearby bush.

"Lo. Tad!" A Lotad rustled some tall grass as it walked over to the pond.

"NOW! Treeko, use pound!" Treeko jumped out of the bush, closely followed by Jae, and hit the Lotad. "Again!" Treeko kept hiting the Lotad and Jae kept yelling at him to keep going.

The surprised Lotad turned around and used watergun. "Dodge and use pound, Treeko!" He jumped out of the way and came up around Lotad to hit him with another pound. Treeko jumped back and landed, breathing heavily and Lotad collapsed to the ground.

Jae wondered what she should do next, having no experience. Finally, she threw a pokeball at it and hoped for the best. Lotad disappeared inside, and the pokeball wiggled three times, then clicked. She ran over to pick it up, and jumped in the air. "Whoo-hoo!" She picked Treeko up in a hug. "You were _great_, Treeko. Are you tired? We'll rest for a while, how 'bout that?" She placed the pokeball in her pack and, cradling Treeko, who fell fast asleep, walked back to camp.

Raechael poked the fire with a stick, causing flames to erupt from it into the sky. She sighed, leaning against Mightyena. Just as she started to fall asleep, she heard a 'boing! Boing!' She sat straight up, and Mightyena perked up, as well.

"What the heck?" She murmured to herself. She stood, keeping a hand on Mightyena's back, and looked around her. She jumped as something literally bounced out of the forest. "Wha! What the heck is that?!"

It bounced in place for a moment, studying her and giving her time to study it. It had a light pink orb on its head. It was dark colored, although she couldn't tell the exact color because the sky was so dark, and it had a pig-like nose. It was bouncing on a spring-like tail. She blinked, and Mightyena cocked her head. Hadn't her father mentioned a pokemon like that at one point…? Wasn't it called something like a Spoink…?

It started to hop away, apparently not thinking her of any interest, and Rae snapped back to reality.

"Hang on a second! Get back here! Emmy, tackle it!" She commanded.

Mightyena slammed into the smaller pokemon, and it flew back a few feet, and instantly jumped back up, and continued bouncing, staring at them. Rae sweat dropped.

"Aren't you getting tired from all that bouncing?" She asked it. It just stared at her, continuing to bounce. "Alright, well, I'm gonna catch you! Emmy, take down!"

Mightyena charged again and slammed hard into it, then jumped up and shook her head, wincing a little at the hard impact. The Spoink's eyes glowed, and circular, purple rings shot out of it's large pink orb in a beam, headed straight at Mightyena. Mightyena yelped as the rings hit her, and she struggled to stay standing.

"What…? Psybeam…? So you're a Psychic, eh? Well, either way, you're mine! Pokeball, go!" Rae cried, tossing a pokeball at the psychic pokemon. It rattled a few times, and the Spoink managed to escape. "Darn it! Emmy, bite it!"

Mightyena did as told, clamping down hard on the Spoink, and Spoink cried out.

"Alright/this/ time you're mine! Pokeball, go!"

This time, the Spoink was indeed caught, and Rae cheered, picking up the pokeball and hugging Mightyena tightly.

"You did wonderfully, Emmy! I'm so proud!" She said. Mightyena cheered with her, howling into the night, and she laughed. "Okay, that's enough now. We don't want Jae worrying that we've been attacked. I can't wait until Jae comes back! I wonder what else Bouncy can do…. Well, I'll just have to wait and find out later. Let's try to sleep while we wait for Jae and Treeko to come back."

She and Mightyena lay down on Rae's sleeping bag again and stared up at the sky, waiting for sleep to take them.

But, once again, just as she was drifting off into a peaceful sleep, Jae burst into the campsite and cried out, "Rae! Rae, guess what? I caught a Tad!"

Rae jerked up and stared at her sister. "A _what?_" she asked.

"A Tad… er… Lotad. I'm naming her Tad, though." Jae smiled broadly, an expression rarely seen on her face. "Treeko was great. He listened to my exact instructions! I think it wore him out, though. I guess he still has a really long way to go before he completely heals…. Maybe we should go to a PokeCenter?"

"I think so, too. And guess what? While you were off catching Tad, I caught a… well, I think it's a Spoink. I've never seen one before, but I think I remember Dad describing one once, and so I think it's a Spoink. I'm naming it Bouncy." Rae replied. Jae crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"/Bouncy/?" She asked simply. Rae crossed her arms defensively and glared at her younger sister.

"It never stopped bouncing. Even when Emmy attacked it, it just never stopped bouncing. So it's Bouncy." She said.

"Whatever. Anyway, I'm sorta tired now, so I'm off to sleeping bag." Jae climbed into her warm sleeping bag and placed Treeko next to her and also inside the sleeping bag. Checking to make sure her sister was asleep, she gazed at Treeko, then got out of the sleeping to find her bag. When she found it, she paused, then took out the star pendent and let it dangle on its silver chain, glistening in the moonlight. The star had a thick, black outline with silver in the middle. It must've cost Rae a lot. She walked back over to the sleeping bag, got in and looked at the pendant again.

Treeko's eyes opened at the movement and he sat up, looking at Jae. The girl smiled, undid the necklaces clasp and placed it around Treeko's neck. "Can I call you Wish from now on?" Treeko's eyes lit up when he looked at the pendant. He nodded his head vigorously.

"Tre!" he said. Jaelyn giggled.

"Okay, Wish it is, then. Goodnight, Wish."

"Tretre, tree," he said as he snuggled against Jae and quickly fell asleep. Smiling, Jae fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Day Two

A/N: HA! I got this up right on schedule this time! Don't expect it too often, though, because I'm not going to be on vacation anymore after this, and our story is on my (Bryanna's) memory stick, so Dani never uses it, which means it's up to me. I'll try to get the next chapter up next Friday. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Yes, we know, we own pokemon. The government is also controlled by aliens and the White House is their space ship.

Chapter Three: Day Two

Rae sat up and stretched as the sun hit her face. She yawned and looked around. Jae was still sleeping, Treeko in her arms. Mightyena watched her, having been woken when she moved. Rae sighed and pulled a can of food out of her bag, looking at it.

"I guess we're having canned food today again, girl. Sucks, huh?" Mightyena sighed heavily and let her head flop onto her paws. Rae smiled. "Ah, well, we should be at a town sometime today. I hope, anyway." She said, stoking the fire again and pulling out a pot, then dumping the can of food into it and sticking it in the fire.

Jae mumbled something unintelligible, shifting, and Rae glanced up, just in time to see someone—a person this time, she knew, not a pokemon—dart into the forest. She felt her heart pounding, and placed a hand on Mightyena's shoulder, her fingers clenched tightly around the fur. Mightyena was staring at where the figure had disappeared, growling deep in her chest. The figure didn't reappear.

"Y'know…. That almost looked like /him/…." Rae murmured, releasing Mightyena's fur and petting her instead. "Do you remember him, Emmy?"

Flashback

"Hm…. Nothing really suits her…." Raechael mumbled to herself, gazing over the shelves of pokemon merchandise.

"Are you looking for something specific?" A voice asked from behind her. She jumped and spun around, her heart pounding.

A tall, handsome young man with midnight blue hair and matching eyes was smiling at her. She swallowed hard, then smiled as well.

"Not really anything /specific/…. My little sister's birthday is coming up, so I'm trying to find something for her. She loves silver, black and stars. Do you have any suggestions?" She asked cheerfully. The stranger reached into his pocket and pulled out a beautiful necklace, obviously for a pokemon. It had a thin but strong silver chain, and the pendant was a star. The star had a thick, black rim around the outside, and a silver center. Rae gasped. "That's /perfect/! Where did you get it?!" She asked.

"It was the last one. But you can have it, if you think she'd like it. I know how important sisters are. I have three." He said.

"But… don't you want it? It must have been expensive!" Rae argued. He smiled.

"Don't worry about it. My sisters are spoiled enough as it is. If I were to give this to one of them, they'd never stop harassing me to get them things. You can have it. I /want/ you to have it." He insisted. She studied him seriously for another moment, then took the necklace, smiling.

"Thank you so much. You have no idea what it means to me, and what it will mean to my sister." She said. He nodded and disappeared back into the crowd. She clutched the pendant to her chest, blushing madly as she thought about him. She glanced down at Mightyena, who had been helping her search for a present. "He was gorgeous! I wanna see him again!" She whispered to the pokemon. Then she giggled softly, and headed home.

End Flashback

Rae's face had turned red again thinking about him.

"Ooo, who're /you/ thinkin' about?" Jae teased, grinning as she sat up. Rae's blush deepened further.

"No one! It's none of your business!" She said firmly, covering her face with her hands.

"Rae's in looove! Rae's in lo-ove, Rae's in lo-ove!" Jae sang cheerfully, which was unusual. She normally was _not_ a morning person. (Example: Rae tried to wake her up in the morning, and Jae opened her eyes to slits, bared her teeth, grabbed Rae's arm and bit down really hard. Rae never tried to wake her up ever again.)

Wish emerged from the sleeping back, the star pendant glistening in the early morning sunshine, and sleepily rubbed his eyes. Jae turned to him and smiled. "Did I wake you? I'm sorry. You can go back to sleep if you want, Wish." Wish shook his head and jumped up, obviously to prove that he was _not_ tired and was readier than _anything_ to begin the day's long journey. Jae laughed softly.

"Hm…. Tad will probably be hungry. You're hungry, too, aren't you, Wish?" She took out the large bag of pokemon food she had gotten for her birthday and dished out four piles, then paused. "Didn't you say you had caught a pokemon last night, too? It'll probably be hungry, too." She dished out another pile. "C'mon out, Tad! Um, wait, how do I get a pokemon to get out of a pokeball? Uh, lessee…" She threw the ball and it opened, a white light spilling from it to become a Lotad. "This is Tad. Tad, meet Raechael, or, as I call her, Rae. Rae, meet Tad."

"Lo-tad."

"It's nice to meet you, Tad. And all of you, this… is Bouncy, and this is Pom." Rae said, releasing both Spoink and Aipom. Aipom stared warily at Rae, who sweat dropped. "Aw, I'm not going to hurt you, Pom. Last night was an accident. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry." She said. Aipom beamed and jumped on her, swinging from her arm. She laughed. "I guess you're feeling better. I'm glad I didn't hurt you too bad."

Jae laughed. "Okay, dig in, everyone!" Wish dived for the first pile, Tad waddled to the second, Emmy walked to the third, Bouncy boinged to the fourth and Pom jump from Rae to the fifth pile of food. This time Jae sweat dropped. "Okay…. I guess everyone was really, really hungry… eheh…."

"Our food is done," Rae said as she dished the food into two bowls.

"Yum. Canned food, " Jae said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Get used to it. We get it every night we aren't at a town." Rae said cheerfully, handing one bowl to her sister.

"Ugh."

"Great. An intersection. Let's see…. I think we're going thataway." Rae said, staring at the map and pointing to their right. Then she turned the map ninety degrees and said, "Wait, no, it's this way." One hundred eighty degrees the other way. "Nope, this way. Wait. Gaah! I'm so confused!"

"Gimme that." Jae snapped, yanking the map out of her sister's hands. Rae whimpered, but didn't object. "We're going straight, intelligent."

"Oh. I knew that. Maybe you'd better keep the map." Rae said, chuckling softly and rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. Jae rolled her eyes.

Treeko perked up, staring down the right hand road, and cowered in Jae's arms. Mightyena also looked down the road.

"What's wrong, Wish?" Jae asked. Rae stared down the road.

"How did you say you found Wish?" She asked, her voice cool.

"Some jerk was beating up on it. Why?"

"Did that jerk happen to be about your height, with brown hair and blue eyes? And he has an Absol?"

Jae glanced down the road as well, and glared fiercely.

"That's him. Can I kill him now?"

"No, you can't. That would get you arrested for murder, which would be bad. Just stay calm." Rae said, moving closer to Jae in case she had to hold her sister back—which, knowing Jae's temper, wasn't a farfetched thought—and waited as the boy walked up to them.

"Is that the pokemon you saved?" He asked snottily as he came to a stop in front of them. Rae bit her tongue; as much as she wanted to tell him to buzz off, it was her sister's fight, and she'd only get involved if she absolutely had to.

"Yeah, it is. Got a problem with it?" Jae demanded angrily.

"No, no, not at all, it's just…" he trailed off.

"Yeah?" she said. Closing her eyes she started counting to ten. One….

"Well, it's kind of small, and…." Two….

"Yes?" Three….

"Well, it's pathetic." Fo – it was worth a try.

"You little ba…. punk! You're going to get it for that! If fu…. snottfaced people like you and your fu…. idiotic pokemon didn't exist, the world would be a much, much, MUCH BETTER PLACE!" Jae charged at him, but then her neck snapped back; Rae had a hold on the collar of her shirt. She turned to face her sister. She lost it completely. "Let GO, dammit! I need to teach this bastard a lesson!"

"Jae, what did I tell you about your colorful language? You're only twelve." Rae seemed calm, but inside, she wanted to attack him as well.

"I don't friggin' care! Lemme at 'im!"

"And… is that a Mightyena?" Andrew seemed to be oblivious to what was happening.

Time seemed to pause. "Yes," Rae said calmly.

"That's nice," he said airily. "Of course, it's not nearly as strong as an Absol, even a weak Absol."

"Why you little… I'm going to seriously hurt you for that!" This time it was Jae's turn to hold Rae back.

"No! This is my rival, my fight. Let me handle it. Please." Rae nodded, and Jae lunged at him. She held onto the collar of his shirt with one hand while the other hand was balled up into a fist.

"You wouldn't dare," he challenged.

"Oh, yes I would."

"Oh yes, she would." Rae said at the same time as Jae. Andrew paled considerably, and Jae punched him hard in the jaw.

"Well, that was fun." Jae said cheerfully as the sisters and pokemon went on their way. "But you didn't let me beat him up as much as I wanted to." She whined.

"If you had beaten him up any more than you did, he would have died of blood loss. And that would have gotten you arrested for manslaughter. And that would have been bad." Rae pointed out.

"THANK you for stating the OBVIOUS." Jae said sarcastically.

"You're welcome." Rae said cheerfully.

Jae stopped, then jumped up and punched the air. "We're at a town! Whoot! Which town is it?"

"Good question. /You/ have the map." Rae pointed out. "I think it's Mauville. There's the Game Corner, see? Mauville's the town with the Game Corner. I can't wait! I want an Acro bike! I like speed, but I wanna do tricks! C'mon, let's go!"

She started down the hill at a flat-out run, Mightyena happily bounding after her. Jae sighed and chased after them, Treeko clinging to her shoulder. "I dunno," she said between breaths to Rae. "I'm more for the speed. I'd rather have a Mach bike."

"Well then, you'll have to wait for me, 'cause I'm not gonna be able to ride as fast as you." Rae said, slowing down as they reached the edge of the town. "We should go to a Pokemon Center, then go to Rydel's Bike Shop. They're right next to each other." Ten minutes later, they were headed into the bike shop, their pokemon healed. "Hello, sir! Might I ask how much for an Acro bike?"

"10,000. Are you interested in one?" Rydel asked cheerfully. Rae sweat dropped.

"At that price? I'm never gonna be able to afford it…." She said.

"What about a Mach bike? Is that the same?" Jae asked.

"Yes, it is."

"Oh. Well, we'd better start saving, right, Rae? We'll be back, Mr. Rydel."

"Yeah, thanks!" Rae called cheerfully, waving as they left. When the door shut behind them she sighed. "So much for that idea. What next? Care to check out the Game Corner?"

"Sure." Jae said. "We may as well, since we're here."

"Great! Let's go!"

Half a minute later they were walking into the Game Corner. Peppy music was playing, and above the music was the sound of loud dings as people played the slots. Every once in a while there was a cheer, or an 'aww' from one of the people playing.

"Cool." Rae said, looking around. "I wanna try it! C'mon, let's go get coins!"

"No. We're supposed to be _saving_, remember? If we get coins, we'll be wasting our money. Besides, we need a coin holder."

Rae sighed. "I suppose you're right." She sighed. Then she mumbled, "Spoil sport."

"I heard that." Jae said pointedly. Rae grinned innocently at her.

"We may as well leave, then. Where do we want to go? Down, right or to the left?" Rae asked, leaving the building.

"Let's go right." Jae said, glancing that direction.

"Sounds good! To the right it is!"

They headed to the right, and over the ledges saw a small bay.

"It's so pretty! I wanna go down to the edge of the water!" Rae said. She grabbed Jae's wrist and dragged her towards the water, picking her way down the shallowest part of the ledges. Just as they reached the edge of the water, they were stopped by someone calling out to them.

"Hang on! You two! With the Mightyena and Treeko! Are you two trainers?" A man with blonde hair and a guitar called. Rae and Jae glanced up.

"Yeah. Why?" Jae asked flatly.

"I'm a trainer, too! We should battle!" He said, running up to them. A woman with brown hair and a basket walked up to them.

"We can have a double battle. That would be nice." She said, standing next to the guitarist. Jae and Rae glanced at each other, and Rae shrugged.

"Sounds good. One on one? Well, technically two on two…."

"Yes, that's normally how a double battle goes." The woman said.

"Sorry. We've been living at home until yesterday, and we didn't get to battle much." Rae said. "Neither of us have ever been in a double battle before." She pulled out a pokeball. "It's probably not too smart of me to use a pokemon I've never used before, but there's gotta be a first time for everything, right? Go, Bouncy!"

Jae glanced at Treeko, and nodded. "Ready, Wish?" He nodded also. "Alright. Go!"

The guitarist sent out a Magnemite, and the woman sent out a Roselia.

"Let's do this, guys! Bouncy, psybeam on Magnemite!" Rae ordered. Spoink used the attack it had the night before, and it hit Magnemite straight on. Magnemite spun a few times, then managed to get itself upright and tried to tackle Spoink, who gave a mighty bounce and went over Magnemite.

"Wish, follow up Bouncy's psybeam with pound!" Wish jumped up high, and as he came down, he kept beating Magnemite with his fists. "That's it!"

"Thunder on Treeko, Magnemite!" the guitarist yelled.

"Treeko, dodge and backhand him with another pound!" Treeko jumped out of the way and pounded Magnemite again. Magnemite wavered and went down a little, then regained its balance and floated up again.

"Roselia, use sweet scent!" The woman called. Roselia sent a very sweet, calming aroma from its flowers out onto the field. All the other pokemon and trainers started feeling more calmed, and less focused on the battle. "Now use magical leaf on that Spoink!"

"Bouncy, bounce high again and try to land on Roselia!" Rae cried, forcing herself from her half-drowsy state. Spoink did as it was told, but it was a little slower thanks to the sweet scent, and it got caught by a few of the leaves headed its way, causing it to cry out in surprise more than pain. It almost landed on Roselia, but missed and had to bounce away as Roselia tried to headbutt it. "Try a psywave!"

Spoink sent out another set of psychic rings that moved up and down hit Roselia, pushing it back a few feet and making it cry out.

Meanwhile, Treeko and Magnemite were tiring themselves out. "Wish, do you know any other moves that do damage? Now would be the time to use them!" The Treeko shook his head. "Okay, then use pound!"

"Magnemite, use thunder on Treeko to counter him!"

"Wish, jump out of the way, and then use pound!" Wish jumped out of the way just as a thunderbolt streaked down and landed right where he had been just a few seconds before. He went behind Magnimite, turned in midair and landed a hard fist down in the middle of the Magnimite's back.

Magnimite tried to stay up, but spun to the ground, his eye shut. "Um… Does that mean it fainted? It does? Yeah! Great job, Wish! Now, help Bouncy! Use pound on Roselia from the back!" Wish jumped to action as Magnemite disappeared into a pokeball held in the guitarist's hand.

Rae glanced at her sister.

"Good timing, Jae. I wasn't sure how much longer I was going to be able to hold out. Bouncy, use psychic! I'm assuming you know it!" She called out to her pokemon.

Spoink glanced at her in confusion, then used psybeam again. Rae sweat dropped.

"Okay, I guess you don't know it. What about confusion?" Spoink glanced at her again, then the bulb on the top of its head glowed again and light purple and black waves shot from the bulb and hit Roselia. Roselia stumbled back a little, then stood again, looking a little dizzy. Jae ordered Treeko to use pound again, and Rae told Spoink to use psywave again. Roselia fell to the ground, unconscious. "Yay! We did it! You did wonderfully, Bouncy!" Rae cheered. "You too, Wish!"

"C'mere, Wish!" Jae called. Wish flung himself into her open arms, and Jae embraced him in a tight, twirly hug. "Your first trainer battle, and you won! You were _awesome_!"

"Congratulations, you four. You did a great job." The woman said. The guitarist sighed.

"Yeah, you did, unfortunately for us. That's two hundred fourteen losses and fifty-three wins. Ah, well, better luck next time. Hey, you guys deserve this. You cough up the dough, too, Cindy." He said, pulling a wad of money out of his pocket and handing them some of it. Cindy also handed them some. The sisters stared at them.

"What's this for?" Rae asked.

"You won. Traditionally, when a trainer wins a trainer battle, the loser gives the winner some of their money. It varies from person to person, but generally it's about a quarter of the money the loser has on them. So, this is for you girls. Use it however you want. And good luck with your next battles." Cindy said, smiling.

Jae and Rae thanked them.

"Hey, do you two have PokeNavs?" Jae asked suddenly. The other two trainers glanced at each other and nodded, pulling out their PokeNavs. "Can we register each other's numbers?"

"That's a great idea! Good thought, Jae! It's times like these I'm proud to call you my sister." Rae said cheerfully, pulling out her own PokeNav.

Cindy registered herself as Aroma Lady Cindy, and the guitarist as Guitarist Dillian. Rae and Jae entered themselves into the other two's PokeNavs, as well.

"So, we'll be hearing from you two again, right?" Rae asked. They nodded. "Great! See you later!"

They left, and Rae started counting the money.

"How much do we have?" Jae asked.

"150." Rae replied. "That's 75 each. Those two don't have much money on them, do they?"

"Well, neither do we. If we lose, our opponent is going to get, like, five dollars." Jae pointed out. Rae sweat dropped.

"Good point. But we're just starting out! We have an excuse! Anyway, I think we should send some money to Mom and Dad to keep for us so we don't lose all our money." Rae said. "They can keep it safe for us until we become good enough trainers that our money is relatively safe from other trainers. What do you think?"

"Good idea. But do we really trust Mother with our money after she kicked us out? She'd probably buy dolls with it for us…."

"That's a very good point. Maybe we should send it to Dad, instead… and tell him to not let Mom touch it. Sound good?"

"Yeah. But we have to make sure he knows not to buy anything with our money."

"Right. So let's get to a phone."

"How are we going to send money through a phone?" Jae asked curiously.

"Well, I figure that since we can send pokemon through the phone, we can find a way to send money through, as well. That's right! You didn't know that. Yeah, there's a little teleportation thingy connected to the phone, and you can send things through it to whoever you're talking to. It's really useful. I've only ever seen it used for pokemon, but I suppose if worse comes to worse, we can always put the money in a pokeball and send it through."

Jae snorted in amusement. After another moment, they found a phone.

"So, how much do we want to send home?" Rae asked.

"How about almost half each? So that would be… about thirty-seven each. How's that sound?"

"Perfect. Alright, let's get this phone hooked up."

"Uh, right…. Do I just press these little buttony-like thingies?" Receiving a nod from Rae, Jae punched in their home number. The screen came on and showed a picture of their father. "Hi, Dad," Jae said.

"Hi, honey. How're you?"

"Fine. Rae's here, too. Guess what? We won a battle! That's why we're calling, really. We want to send some money home for you to keep safe. We aren't experienced enough to be sure not to lose it all."

"Hi, Dad," Rae managed to say in between Jae's informative, gabby mouth.

"Rae! How are you? I gathered that Jae is fine and that she won a battle. What about you?"

"It was a double battle. We _both_ won. That would be why she said 'we'. As in our pokemon _and_ each other. And I caught an Aipom and a Spoink!"

"That's great, honey! But… wait a minute. What was Jae's first pokemon? How did she get it?"

"That's not important. How do you send money through this thing?" Jae quickly cut in.

Before their father could reply, Rae quickly said, "Her first pokemon was a Treeko, and now she also has a Lotad."

"Wow, a Treeko, eh? They're pretty rare. How'd you come across it?" Their father seemed not to have heard Jae's question.

"That's _not_ important!" Jae hissed.

"That's not important," Rae said cheerfully at the same time as Jae. "Anywho, how _do_ we send money through this thing?"

"There should be a slot. I'll wait till you find it. You did get that Treeko legally, right?"

"Yes," Jae said with exasperation as her sister found the slot and slid the money through. "We're sending 37 each. Do _not_ use it at _all_. When we ask for it back, though, give it to us, please. And _please_ don't let Mom get a hold of it. She might buy something with it."

"Oh, and speaking of her, send her our love, please. Tell her we miss her," Rae said.

"Even if she _did_ kick us out of our own home…."

"Jae, be nice. If she hadn't, we probably would have been stuck there until we were forty." Rae hissed softly.

"I'm sorry, were you talking to me? I couldn't hear you. Could you speak louder?" Their father asked.

"No, we weren't speaking to you, sorry. Thanks for keeping our money for us. We have to go. Bye!" Rae said cheerfully. Before their father could say anything, she hung up. She blinked, and glanced at her sister. "I just thought of something. Why are we hiding how and when you found Wish from Dad? It's not like they can take it away or anything. They kicked us out of the house! They can't ground us now, or do anything else. Wish is yours, and they can't change that." She pointed out.

"First of all, that's a very good point, and second of all, technically, Wish isn't _mine_. _I _belong to _him_. Maybe I didn't tell Dad because I'm used to not telling them about my pokemon, seeing as how I never really had any. And it would've taken too long. We should probably go back to the Pokemon Center; I know Wish took some pretty rough hits out there, didn't you, buddy?" He shook his head in defiance. "Yeah. Right. You're still going to the Pokemon Center, Mister Toughy." He hung his head and sighed, then looked up again, snuggling close to her shoulder. "He doesn't seem like he's too old. Maybe a year or two, but still…."

"Yeah. But that's good. The younger they start to train, the stronger they'll become. He's going to be really strong when he gets older. And Bouncy needs to get to a Pokemon Center, as well. Okies, to the Pokemon Center!" Rae said cheerfully, skipping towards the building.

As they entered, they heard a lot of sounds. Chatting people as they waited for their turn to heal their pokemon or waiting for their pokemon to finish healing, the quiet, soothing music, and the ding of the machines that heal the pokemon.

Jae walked into the smallest line and waited. "Guess right now's a pretty busy time. Wonder why?"

"Come on up. We can heal your pokemon to perfect health. Would you like us to heal your pokemon?" Nurse Joy said as the next person walked up. Only three people were in front of Jae. She looked behind her. There was her sister…. She sweat dropped. People from the other lines had gathered in _that_ line. _Guess it's not really the shortest line, now, is it…_ she thought.

"What in the world…?" Rae murmured. She turned to the young boy behind her. "Is it always this busy at this time of day?" She asked.

"Are you new here, or something? Today's the day of the competition! Once a month, there's a competition held here. Everyone battles each other to see who's the strongest, and Scott decides who deserves to become a member of his group. If you get chosen, you're one of the few luckiest people in the world! You get discounts at stores, you get prizes and trophies, and you get special badges when you compete in his tournaments. If you get chosen, then everyone knows you're one of the best trainers in the world! Scott won't choose just anyone. You have to be really impressive! And the competition just started about an hour ago, so it's still going strong. It's not too late to enter. But that's why the Pokemon Center is so busy right now." He said, his tone saying that they were idiots. Jae glared at him.

"Oh. Thank you! And just for the record, we just got here this morning, and we've never been here before. So, yeah, we're new."

"But it happens all over region once a month," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, it just so happens that we've never been off our parents ranch before. And, just so you know, we're from the Laeland Ranch." The boy's eyes widened. "Yeah, that's right, open your eyes in fear," Jae snarled.

"Now, Jae, be nice, he didn't know. He's just a little tyke," Rae said teasingly. She patted him on the head and leaned down to his eye level. "Aren't you just so cute?"

"Come on up. We can heal your pokemon to perfect health. Would you like us to heal your pokemon?" Nurse Joy called. Jae glanced around and realized it was her turn. She handed the nurse her Treeko. "Just a moment, and your Treeko will be healed." Jae nodded and waited. A little while later, Wish was handed back to her.

Then it was Rae's turn, and she handed the pokeball with Spoink to Nurse Joy, who quickly healed it and handed it back to her.

"Alright, let's go. I'm starting to get claustrophobic. Feel like checking out the competition thing? Might be interesting; we might learn some things." Rae said. Jae nodded, and they followed the crowd of people to where the competition was apparently being held.

As they forced their way to the front of the crowd, they heard 'Ooo's, and finally managed to poke their heads out to see what was going on. A tall, handsome young man with midnight blue hair and matching eyes had a Sableye in front of him. Rae gasped loudly, her hand covering her mouth.

"It's /him/! I don't believe it!" She exclaimed. Jae glanced between her sister and the boy a few times, then grinned evilly.

"Ooo, Rae and that guy sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" She chanted.

"Shut up shut up shut up!" Rae cried, smacking her sister hard on the head. Jae 'oof'd as she face-planted. She glanced up and smirked when she saw that Rae's face was a violent shade red and she was hiding her face in her hands again.

Jae got up and dusted off. "Let's see how good he is."

"Sableye! Shadowball followed up by nightshade!" The defending pokemon, a Steelix, widened his eyes in fright. The attacks hit him in a powerful blast that knocked the Steelix over.

"Steelix in unable to battle! The winner is Sableye and Tyler!" the announcer called. The crowd cheered loudly, and Rae's blush deepened further.

"He's so amazing! I mean, the battle was so amazing! He's such a good trainer!" Rae said breathlessly. Jae smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"So, where'd you meet him, anyway?"

"At the store where I got your present. I couldn't find anything for you, and he helped me pick the necklace out. So you'd best be thankful to him." Rae snapped, still blushing.

"Well then, let's go say hi." Jae said, starting off. Rae grabbed her arm, and Jae glanced back.

"No! I—I mean, I just—no!" She stuttered.

"No, what? Did I miss something?" A voice asked from behind them. Jae smiled at him, and Rae's blush deepened.

"Hello. I'm Jae, Rae's sister. That was an amazing battle, if I may say so. I hear you helped my sister pick out my birthday present. Thank you." Jae said, forcefully turning Rae around to face the boy. He smiled, ignoring Rae's blush.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you like it." He said. He glanced at Rae. "It's good to see you again."

"I—It's really good to see you, too. That was an incredible battle!" Rae said, trying to keep herself from stuttering like she was tempted to do.

"Thank you. It's all thanks to my Sableye. Without it, I wouldn't be able to battle." He pointed out. Rae nodded, her blush finally lessening. "So what are you two doing here?"

"After keeping us locked up our whole lives, Mom and Dad decided it was time we went off on our own and kicked us out of the house. So now we're traveling." Rae said, shrugging, her blush finally disappearing completely. "What about you? Are you here for the competition?"

"Not exactly. I just happened to be here when the competition showed up, so I figured I may as well enter. Are you going to enter?"

"God, no! There's no way either of us would be able to win! We just had our first trainer battle earlier today, and we haven't really had that much practice before. I mean, I only have three pokemon, and Jae only has two. Before last night, we each only had one. There's no way we're ready to enter a tournament like this!" Rae exclaimed, half-laughing. "Maybe once we've gotten to be better trainers, but not yet."

"Ah, right. I remember when I was just starting out on my own journey, too," he said, smiling. "It's nearly lunchtime. Do you want to come? My treat. We'd better go before the crowd leaves."

"Sounds good to me! I'm starved!" Rae said cheerfully. Jae snorted softly and murmured to her, "Yeah, right. You just want an excuse to be with him." Still smiling broadly, Rae stomped hard on her sister's foot.

"Yeeoouch!" Jae cried, picking up her foot and holding it, jumping on her other foot to keep her balance.

"Are you okay?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah. Just peachy." Jae said sarcastically.

"Oh, get over it. You deserve it, for that comment. Come on, we need to beat the crowd." Rae said, gently shoving her sister, causing Jae to lose her balance.

"My foot still hurts…" Jae complained, wiping the last of the dirt of her face. "And I can still taste the dirt." Rae chose to ignore this comment. Tyler chuckled, causing Rae to blush slightly.

"Thank you for our lunches. They were great," she said.

"Oh, no problem. My pleasure. Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we register each other in our PokeNavs?" He took out his and handed it to Rae. Rae responded by taking out hers and giving it to him. They handed their PokeNavs back once they were registered. "You, too, Jae," he said cheerfully.

"Oh." She did the same. She looked at the screen of the Match Calls. He had registered himself simply as "Tyler". She smirked as she changed it to "Rae's Crush Tyler" and put it away before her sister could see. Rae hadn't even noticed; she was busy putting her own PokeNav back.

"Alright, so… we'll see you later then, right?" Rae asked hopefully. He smiled again.

"I certainly hope so." He said.

"Where do you plan on heading next?" Rae asked.

"Well, after the contest, I'm planning on heading to Verdanturf Town to help stabilize the tunnel they're building through the mountain. It'll be a direct route to Rustburo City once it's done, and I was asked to help." He replied.

"Well, that's good. Be careful, though." Rae said.

"Where are you two planning on going?" He asked. They glanced at each other.

"Dunno. We haven't thought that far ahead yet. We're just sort of wandering aimlessly. We'll figure it out at some point." Rae said, sighing.

Jae was studying the map. "Why don't we go to Verdanturf, as well? It's closest, and it says on the map here the first contest center is in Verdanturf. You wanted to visit one of those, right, Rae?"

"Yeah, I did. Okay then, we'll go there."

"And we could probably stay until the tunnel is built so we can get to Rustburo faster. I want to take the gym leader challenge, and I have to go in order, don't I? Roxanne is the first gym, right?"

"That's right. So that's a good idea. Then we can all head to Rustburo together." Tyler said, smiling. Rae started blushing again and stared disbelievingly at her sister, who smiled innocently back. She sent Jae her famous 'I'm going to get you in your sleep' and 'I love you' all-at-once-look. "I have to go back to the contest soon." He stood up.

"And I want to catch some more pokemon, too," Jae said.

"You can borrow my fishing rods if you like. I have two super ones." The two girls stared at him.

"Really? You sure?" Jae asked. At his nod, she exclaimed, "Thank you!" He handed them his rods that he had pulled from his pack.

"See you later," he said as he turned to head to the contest.

"Yeah. Right. Oh! Bye!" Rae stuttered.

Jae smirked. "Bye."


End file.
